How will the GOP recover from the complicity and corruption of the Trump era? To many Republicans, the answer is simple: Pretend it never happened.

My story on the collective case of amnesia about to set in among conservatives:
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
“We’re about to see a whole political party do a large-scale version of ‘New phone, who dis?’” says Sarah Isgur, a former spokesperson for the Trump DOJ. “It will be like that boyfriend you should never have dated—the mistake that shall not be mentioned.” theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
When I asked Doug Heye, a longtime GOP strategist, how his party will remember the Trump years, he responded with a litany of episodes to memory-hole: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Terry Sullivan, who ran Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, on Republicans' righteous indignation after the Capitol riot: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
The hardcore MAGA crowd will remain, of course, and those few who consistently opposed Trump will escape with their reputations intact. But for most GOP officials, apparatchiks, and commentators, whitewashing the Trump years will be the only way forward: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
There is precedent: Many predicted that the Republicans who worked for George W. Bush, especially the architects of the Iraq War, would be shunned. Instead, they settled into respectable—and lucrative—perches as commentators, lobbyists, and elder statesmen theatlantic.com/politics/archi…

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More from @mckaycoppins

6 Jan
As the Trump era draws to a close, the Republican Party is fractured, out of power, and bitterly fighting over core tenets of democracy.

My story on the spectacle in Washington today, with quotes from Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Thomas Massie, and more: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
I spoke to (a fairly sanguine) Romney last night a few hours after he was harassed by Trump supporters in an airport. “A huge portion of the American public has been misled by the president about the outcome of the election," he told me. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
“The president was right that there was an effort to corrupt the election," Romney told me, "but it was not by Joe Biden. It was by President Trump.” theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 11 tweets
29 Dec 20
In the Trump era, many Washington reporters became resistance heroes, showered with book deals, TV contacts, and Twitter followers. I talked to some of them about their (our) ambivalence about that—and what they plan to do next.
theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
“On a purely social level, I don’t know that reporting critically on Joe Biden will feel as safe for reporters,” @Olivianuzzi told me. “You’re not going to get yass queen–ed to death.” theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
One cable-news anchor told me that praise from anti-Trump celebrities on Twitter has become like a “narcotic” for some of his colleagues: “It’s important to people that George Takei likes their monologue." theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 6 tweets
7 Nov 20
I was at Steve Bannon’s rooftop Election Night party when reality started to set in—then I got dramatically kicked out. On failed prophecy, cognitive dissonance, and the future of Trumpism in America: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Hey @Harlan, are we doing that livestream? theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Slightly regretting that we didn't headline this piece "What we can learn about the future of Trumpism from a 1950s UFO sect in Chicago" theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 4 tweets
29 Oct 20
So, here's Mike Lee comparing Donald Trump to Captain Moroni (a hero in the Book of Mormon) and then modifying a verse of LDS scripture to include the words "fake news."
The end of this cursed campaign season cannot come soon enough.
I've gotta say, "I seek not for power but to pull it down" may be the single Book of Mormon quote that's least relatable to Donald Trump. churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptur…
Read 6 tweets
29 Sep 20
Former aides say they’ve heard Trump privately ridicule conservative religious leaders, dismiss faith groups with cartoonish stereotypes, and deride rites and doctrines held sacred by many in his base.

My story on what Trump really thinks about religion: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
When Trump learned about a megachurch pastor trying to raise $60 million to buy a private jet, he was delighted by the "scam," according to Michael Cohen, and eager to highlight that the pastor was "full of sh*t."

"They're all hustlers," Trump said.

theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
One former Trump adviser told me he seems to feel a kind of kinship with certain prosperity gospel preachers: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Read 11 tweets
23 Sep 20
Republican sources tell @bartongellman the Trump campaign "is discussing contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority." theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
Here's how it would work, according to a Trump campaign legal adviser: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
The Trump campaign's response: theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…
Read 5 tweets

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